While the platform is fully functional now, the transition will take place in a phased manner when all the websites are up and running, according to one source. Started three years ago, Trendin was the first ecommerce venture of the group and had clocked in a gross merchandise value of Rs 120 crore in the recent financial year.

Ashish Dikshit, business head at Madura Fashion, confirmed that it plans to have separate ecommerce websites for its five labels — Louis Philippe, Allen Solly, Van Heusen, Peter England and People — as part of the company’s “digital transformation journey”. “Today, we have moved from ecommerce to omni-channel and we want to offer not just multi-brand environment, but a better opportunity for each individual brand with consumers,” Dikshit said.

He, however, he said Trendin will continue as Madura’s multibrand ecommerce site. “The individual websites will be ready in about a month and a half." “In reality, we are expanding our ecommerce play by adding individual brand sites to our existing Trendin operations. We are further strengthening the existing ecommerce team to manage this more complex, multiple-website operation.

“Trendin will remain the single repository of our entire brand portfolio, while individual brand sites will offer rich brand experience, consumer engagement and multi-channel commerce in line with our omni-channel strategy,” said the company in an email. The Bengaluru-based company, which had a team of about 100 employees working for the portal, will now work towards building individual brand sites and weave the company’s ecommerce agenda.

“A circular has gone to the staff that they are shutting Trendin and the staff will be absorbed in Abof (Aditya Birla’s other pureplay ecommerce venture) and other verticals,” said another source on the condition of annonimity. There has been some senior management changes too.

Shivanandan Pare, who headed Trendin, will now head new digital initiatives. Shivaraj Subramaniam, director, corporate marketing and consumer practices at Madura Fashion and Lifestyle, will now be undertaking the digital and omnichannel vertical.

One of the persons familiar with the plans said Aditya Birla has found that individual labels such as Louis Philippe and Allen Solly would get better traction with their individual portals then selling through Trendin. In October last year, the textiles-to-telecom conglomerate rolled out pureplay online retailing venture Abof.com.